[ayaghmour2]

Now that the trades have all been finalized and official, I'll highlight some other transactions, but the offseason will be pretty slow since we don't really have Free Agents to sign. The biggest news will be the draft, which has already been kicked off.

We were picking first, and we went with what we felt was the obvious choice in P/1B Tom Barrell out of Georgia Baptist. Somewhat of a legend in the Figment realm, the younger brother of current Cougar C Fred Barrell was a rare four year college player who holds numerous records for counting stats both at Georgia Baptist and in the entire AIAA. On the mound, he finished 34-8 with a 2.54 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 489 strikeouts in 425 innings. He also owned a solid batting line (especially his senior season) and is a potential two-way superstar. He slashed .355/.401/.585 (151 OPS+) with 11 homers and 50 RBI's as a Senior and he can play a little of first and left. On the mound he throws in the high 90s with a fastball, slider, and change. At the plate, he's a disciplined hitter with average power and he can field his position. The 21-year-old is extremely developed and could be on a fast track to the Cougar rotation.

We have two picks in the second round, the 1st and 12th (from the Keystones in the Johnny Douglas trade) and will likely be targeting both a hitter and pitcher (if not two hitters). Our new scout Hal Bean (who makes more money then the rest of the team) will have his work cut out for him, but he's a much more skilled scout then our previous one. He's excellent at all three categories and I plan on keeping the 60 year old until he retires. Our old scout, Jimmy Reed, was average at everything except great at amateurs. It's a big upgrades in ratings, although Reed did a good job while he was there. I made a lot of good picks in the earlier drafts, but last year was rough and other then the '25 draft we haven't had much production from the other classes high round picks. I've done a lot of personal scouting on the pool, so I'm very confident in my perception of the draftees and I can use his knowledge on the actual ratings of the players to make sure I'm not taking a player who played well, but is actually useless on the field.

Two of the picks already made, Tom Blalock (4th, St. Louis) and Jake Shadoan (7th, Brooklyn), I would have considered trading up to take, however, with a busy real life weekend I didn't have the time to talk trade. I knew neither would fall to the 2nd Round, but with six picks before my next one I'm excited for who is left on the board. I don't want to give up who I'm looking at, but I do think I'm getting a second first round quality player with the pick. Ideally I'd grab a shortstop or center fielder with this pick, but there are a few SP's that catch my eye. I went pitching heavy last year and already took Barrell, so it may not be worth grabbing another risky commodity with a high pick. There is one guy I really like, but I likely won't be able to trade up to get him.

In a more minor move, we signed LF Bud Rogers to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. He can opt out 30 games into the season if he isn't added to the 40-Man roster. He gives us depth in AAA and for the majors in case injuries hit us. He could be a dependable bench player as he can play at all three outfield spots. He didn't spend much time in the majors this season, but he owns a .315/.383/.448 (121 OPS+) career line with 38 homers and 343 RBI's from 1923-1929. Most of the time he spent was with Brooklyn except for a cup of coffee with the Stars this season and part of last season.